Am I Teachable?

As I contemplated what to write for the first blog post of 2024, this verse from Psalm 143 came up as the verse of the day in YouVersion today. It has been my habit of late to choose a word for the year and this verse prompted me to ask myself, Am I teachable? And maybe, more importantly, Do I want to be?

When I googled the definition of teachable, this definition from Oxford Languages was at the top of the search page.

adjective: teachable

1. (of a person) able to learn by being taught.

2. (of a subject) able to be taught

I had to chuckle at the example of the word teachable listed under #1! "When we think we have things already figured out, we're not teachable." How many of us fit this description?

Then I had to ask myself, How often do I think I have God figured out? Am I teachable? Does this mean that God can't teach me anything new about Himself? Nothing new about me and my relationship with Him?

This reminded me of a hymn introduced to me last year, Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord, lyrics and music written by B. Mansell Ramsey in 1919. I have been finding myself singing it in my head of late. An arranger that I follow wrote in his notes,

"As I read the words to this hymn, I could see it was a humble prayer from someone who was seeking the will of the Lord and pleading for Him to

teach and help him understand His ways."

Much like the prayer of the psalmist, David, in Psalm 143, the hymn writer lists the many things that are going wrong in his life, yet he continues to ask for God's guidance and whether "in failure or distress, teach me thy way."

I have decided that "teachable" will be my word for 2024, Psalm 143:10 will be my verse, and this hymn will be my prayer for the year. Perhaps you will join me in this endeavor for the New Year? Or maybe you have chosen another word or verse for the year? Please share in the comments section below.

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Photo by Nicolas Cool on Unsplash